1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to apparatus and method for handling high volume business mail and, in particular, it relates to in-line rotary inserter devices having a plurality of hopper-held insert feeding assemblies positioned along conveyors for dispensing of inserts onto the conveyors, and having devices for stuffing envelopes with the inserts.
2. Prior Art and Other Considerations
Many present mechanical devices for stuffing inserts into envelopes employ conveyors for conveying stack-dispensed inserts to an envelope stuffing device. Multiple inserter devices rely on a plurality of hoppers which are disposed along conveyors and which dispense inserts onto the conveyor in predetermined manner to result in collated packages of inserts that are subsequently inserted into envelopes.
Increasingly widespread need in commerical and governmental institutions is found for envelope inserting equipment that is capable of operating at higher celerities with high reliabilities and short down-times. Problems associated with high-speed operation of such equipment are generally of a kind that do not exist or are inconsequential in lower speed operation. Such problems, for instance, relate to high accelerations and decelerations of mechanical components and inserts and envelopes, together with frictional, inertial, and other effects affecting moving equipment components and handled document materials.
Moreover, demands on accuracy of document material positioning and alignment in the course of its handling is greatly increased in high speed operation.
Additionally, equipment down-time takes on a whole new meaning when high speed operation is involved. Even a short down-time represents loss of significant proportions of production runs and requires costly skilled operator action in order to remedy the cause, as well as to reset preprogrammed operation to obtain the required production.
The complexity of control and supervision of selectively utilizable operations and functions for high speed in-line inserters and the associated need for automatically sensing and acting upon a plurality of critical operating parameters and fault conditions, and other considerations particularly related to efficient high-speed operation have hitherto impeded technical progress toward achievement of satisfactory performance under high volume and high celerity conditions.
Prior art inserter devices include U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,043,551 and 4,079,576 to Morrison et al, U.S. Pat. No. 4,177,979 to Orsinger et al, U.S. Pat. No. 4,649,691 to Buckholz, U.S. Pat. No. 3,825,247 to Fernandez-Rana et al, U.S. Pat. No. 3,423,900 to Orsinger, U.S. Pat. No. 2,621,039 to Kleineberg et al, and U.S. Pat. No. 3,809,385 to Rana.
In view of the foregoing, it is an object of the present invention to provide apparatus and method for automatically inserting into envelopes at high celerities a plurality of inserts in predetermined and preprogrammed continuous manner and to further automatically process such insert-filled envelopes through diverting, flap-sealing, turn-over, stacking, and other operations associated therewith, all under computer control and supervision and to provide higher production rates than heretofore practically feasible.